Royalty

The Royalty of Saphrona, (Regia Saphrona or simply Regia) is the ruling family of Saphrona, the largest and most enduring empire on Lorica. Saphrona's capital is Originum, on the continent Origina, for historical reasons built right at the location of the now-broken-down Portal between Lorica and Earth. Or rather, Originum is the city considered the capital. But the real capital isn't really a city at all. It's a colossal, ornate floating palace called the Citadel. The Citadel most of the time floats underwater, in the few-miles-wide lake Laga Originum (which is right beside Originum the city). However, it can also float in and fly through the sky. The Citadel is where all important government and royal affairs take place. The royalty as described here is relevant only up until the 1500's AD.

Emperor

Life

The emperor (imperata or less commonly, imperatylandra) has the final say over just about everything in the land, with the sole exception of when another puts him to trial. There is a tradition based on the religious text Prismatic that says that Andar - the greatest of all emperor-judges - would not judge himself, and therefore that no emperor may. Of course, anyone trying to use this tradition as a means of getting the emperor in trouble will soon find himself in a world more trouble than he can imagine. This is because the emperor also has access to the largest library of developed and discovered magic known to humanity on Lorica. This is why the empire of Saphrona is inherently stable: the ruler at the top not only has the command of his peoples, but also wields incredibly powerful and versatile (remember, this is Lorica we're talking about, all magic is versatile) magic - more powerful and versatile than most people think magic is capable of doing.

The emperor by tradition stays in the Citadel all the time. He holds Courts every once in a while. Courts are meetings of the highest-ranking officials with the emperor, where they present any issues that need the emperor's knowing, and where the emperor can give them duties.

Every once in a while, the emperor secretly leaves to "Probe" (probia, lit. "discover") across the empire. This is equivalent to a sting operation that the emperor can completely trust (himself, after all), and is used for weeding out and seriously discouraging any attempts at corruption/bribery that may happen, because anyone caught doing something illegal via a royal Probe may be executed on the spot.

The emperor generally lives a strained life, for he is solely responsible for making sure no one gets out of line or that anyone will initiate a coup against him. Lorican magic has yet to develop to the point of predicting the future, detecting lies, reading minds, etc., which leaves considerable room for officials to do things they should not do and thus ruin it for everyone else. Since just about every high official got to his position by being intelligent, this is one intellectually taxing and demanding job requiring considerable knowledge, wisdom, and skill. However, this job does not take up a lot of time, and the emperor is thus free to use the rest of the day to do as he wishes - Generally. Of course he cannot go into the rest of the world and act like an idiot, break any of a number of royal rules that apply to emperors, etc.

Decisions

The emperor also makes decisions regarding any rewards and punishments, for everyone. Once something is decided, it is tradition never to go back on one's word, or else this will be seen as a weakness (indecisiveness) by the peoples. Hence the emperor must ponder everything, and their ramifications, deeply to avoid making a foolish decision. The emperor's favorite decisions are:

Jailing someone - the emperor has magic that can teleport someone, against their will, to a secondary inside (a universe not in this one) that is composed of mostly jail cells. This secondary inside is called the Arcane Prison, and is filled with wards and the like by magi throughout the empire's existence to prevent other magi from freeing those trapped inside. Through all of Lorican history the magic of the Arcane Prison has stayed 'ahead of the curve', and no one other than the emperor at the time (or those given the ability to do so by the emperor) has ever managed to spirit away an inmate. By comparison, most jails used by other officials of the empire are those rickety not-in-my-back-yard structures with easy-to-unlock keys and easy-to-break-down doors, directed at less important (and less capable) criminals.

Execution - since the emperors generally don't like to see people getting killed all day, they delegate the responsibility of a killing to someone else (depending on who is there to service the emperor, or course). Generally emperors don't kill on the spot (unless when fighting a rogue mage) because of the possibility of a false conviction, and so delay the execution by three days by default. Execution generally takes place in prominent areas in towns and cities.

Promotion and demotion - the emperor can promote or demote anyone to any official rank or no rank at all. There being 8 ranks in total, called "Title 1", "Title 2", etc. in order of decreasing power. For example, a third-level official would be called a Title 3 official. Although different ranks generally bring with them different powers and responsibilities the emperor can of course mix and match these or make new ones. A promotion generally takes the form of a magic spell (Promotae, regardless of promotion or demotion) which grants officials the ability to cast certain magic (the lowest tiers of the officials' hierarchy don't involve magic spells).

Magic-based rewards - chief among these is the casting of Floresae on a person (this causes a brilliant, glowing, circular design to appear around one's feet at one's will and follows them like one's shadow does). There are of course different grades of this spell, corresponding to different types of auxiliary rewards. Although these are something one can boast about to others of the same rank, and they look incredibly pretty, they don't bring with them any special rights or abilities.

Deciding who has to marry who - including for the princes if he so wishes

Overturning others' judicial or governmental decisions

Making arbitrary rules (such as 'you are to walk around the city perimeter once a day, every day for no good reason').

Court People

The emperor also decides on who will be heir-apparent (this is generally kept secret from everyone so that the heir-apparent doesn't kill the emperor right away). Because once the emperor dies the heir-apparent becomes the emperor and becomes superior to all the other possible heirs (princes), and because emperors generally have multiple male scions, none of the princes dare to kill the emperor because they might not be the one the emperor had chosen up to that point. Instead, the princes focus on getting the emperor's favor and proving that they are mature and intelligent enough to lead the empire. The emperor must make a point of not being too overt about who is the favored son if he wants to protect himself. The woman married to the heir-apparent, when the emperor dies, becomes queen.

The emperor also decides on who to allow into the palace. These will generally be:

People newly inducted into the body of maidservants (who do the brunt of the servant work and who look after people)

People newly inducted into the body of manservants, generally guards (cannon fodder if any rogue mage comes knocking by)

People chosen to be concubines. Only the emperor is allowed to have them, and emperors are even expected to have a harem of them. At most times two of them follow the emperor around, looking after him.

People chosen to be princesses (Reginylgyna). There are actually two types of princesses. In both cases they are hexed with the spell Reginylgynae:

Women who are the children of the emperor (true princess), who don't need to be brought into the palace because they're born there; and

Women who are married to the children of the emperor (princess-in-law).

Queen

The queen (impera or less commonly, imperatylgyna) is the woman married to the emperor. She is just about the most blessed of all women on Lorica, benefiting from magic and having just about nothing to worry about. Most of the queen's time is spent entertaining oneself. They generally hold great sway over their emperors, so their lack of a government role is thus compensated.

The magic is about the same as that used by the emperor, minus:

The ability to strike through loricae.

Of course, this spell makes all the difference in the world should the queen ever intend to overthrow her emperor.

Prince

The prince (reginylandra) is any son of the emperor; there will generally be a few in each generation. Of them only one is chosen (secretly) by the emperor to be the heir-apparent. The prince is given much of the imperial set of magic and is expected to use them to prove that they are mature and intelligent enough to be heir-apparent.

Princely prerogatives:

Magic-based rewards

Overturning others' judicial or governmental decisions

Making arbitrary rules (limited)

These princely rights are thus far more restricted compared to that of the emperor's. However, the prince is still given considerable magical powers via reginylandrae. This hex set by itself, though less powerful than that of the emperor's, is still capable of accomplishing much of all magic discovered by the royalty in previous generations. This makes them about the most powerful magi in all of Lorica, and generally infinitely stronger than that of rogue magi.

The proper role of a prince is to be someone who can keep the imperial line running and ensure the continued well-being of the empire.

The princes are expected to go on a Quest (questa) to discover the truths about magical foundations and about wise governing. Those who are most successful with the Quest will often be the one selected to be the heir-apparent. However, until the emperor dies this Quest generally is ongoing; hence most princes are away from the court all the time once they reach adolescence.

The princes are also able to go on Probes like the emperor does. They provide just as large a threat to the continued survival of corruption as the emperor's Probe. However, this is generally a bit more regular and predictable.

Princess

There are actually two types of princesses. In both cases they are hexed with the spell Reginylgynae:

Women who are the children of the emperor (true princess), who don't need to be brought into the palace because they're born there; and

Women who are married to the children of the emperor (princess-in-law).

Generally, princes make the choices for princesses-in-law. However, the emperor and/or queen can also make these decisions.

Reginylgynae is generally only slightly weaker than Reginylandrae.

The proper role of a true princess is to oversee the Citadel. The proper role of a princess-in-law is to comfort one's prince.